True Contentment Part 1

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God Never Promised That He Wouldn’t Give Us More Than We Can Handle!

Sarah Trimmer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

God Never Promised
That He Wouldn’t Give Us
More Than We Can Handle!

1 Cor. 10:13 “ No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (NAS)
This scripture has been misquoted for so long as, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” that we believe it. So what is wrong with that you ask? It’s dangerous; if we believe this than we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. And this type of disappointment could separate us from God!
First off God does not “give” us anything bad. To imply such is a lie. He may allow bad things to happen in our lives for many reasons. This is a very devious plan by the enemy to make God accountable for his schemes! And we fall for it! It is up to us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that we can discern why things happen the way they do. But rest assured, it is not God that is doing it to you. We misquote this verse to comfort one another. Let’s look deeper into this verse so we can understand why we need to be careful.
What is this scripture saying? God says that He will provide a way of escape for us when we are tempted so we can “endure” it. Now if we are to believe the misquoted version of this verse, we are told that He will not give us more than we can handle. This implies that things will only get so bad and then poof; we will be delivered from the current situation! Not correct, we are given an escape so that we can endure. That means so that we can stand strongly and firmly rooted in our faith and hope. He provides the way for us to stand firm, but we still have to endure it! When our faith is tested in such a way it strengthens us, it grows us.
So what is this “escape route” that God gives us? Let’s cross reference this verse with 2 Peter 2:9 “…then the Lord knows how to rescue the “godly” from trials…” (NAS)
If we are “godly” we can escape temptations, in other words, we do not have to give in to them. They won’t go away, but we will be able to endure them. The word godly means to be devoted to God’s ways. The word rescue means to set free. So if we will be devoted to God’s ways He will set us free from temptations. Not take them away, but rather give us the ability, the tools to endure them. If we are never tempted or tested how can we know that we have faith? If I say I have the stamina to run a marathon, but never do then it is just words. Being a Christian is more than just saying it, being a Christian is an action. It is a way of life. Jesus (the one for Whom the title Christian is derived from) did not sit back, He did things, He was active in His time here. He set the example that we are to live by. So rejoice in the temptations and trials 1 Peter 4:13 “Instead, be very glad–for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world….”(NLT).
God will free us from giving in to temptations and trials, but only when we choose to be godly. This is His free gift to us! Our escape route! But you may say I am not being tempted, I am being persecuted. So what are the choices you have in that situation? To stand firm or give in right? But I say this to you, isn’t the TEMPTATION to give in great? Of course it is! It’s easier to swim with the current than against it. It is human nature to want to be accepted not rejected. All of these things are temptations. We just don’t see them in that way. I implore you all; we need to start seeing things that way. In every trial there is a temptation; God has given us an escape route, to be godly. He has not promised that the problem will go away; He just gives us a way to be victorious. And that should be more than enough for us…
The next time you or someone you know is suffering, do not misquote this passage. But rather be reminded, and remind others, that if you are willing to be godly, than God has given you an escape route to be able to stand against temptation and trials.
Remember faith is only faith when it is put to the test! Otherwise it is just words that we speak. 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;…” (NLT); James 2:14 “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” (NLT); James 2:18 “Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” (NLT)

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Thank you so much for your blog with regards to this in response to mine. I hope that the readers of my blog will follow the link. I was not implying that God makes our problems evaporate as soon as it gets to hot, but that he is our escape vessel. Even Job suffered tremendously but stood firm in his faith and was able to endure, God did not cause this but allowed it to happen.

This is so true. Sometimes we say “God does not give you more than you can handle” thinking it will make things better for the person suffering. But when someone is going through something horrible and feels so overwhelmed, hearing that statement is not a comfort. Like you said, it really makes God out to be so cruel. I mean after all, how dare He cause you to endure such cruelty because you can bare it!

Thank you for looking at this statement and showing that God is loving and does not hurt us but that He has given us an escape from the hurt that this life brings.